The euro over the years: its history and benefits
With Bulgaria the latest country to join the euro area, here is a look at the euro’s history and the benefits it brings.
Bulgaria to join the euro area
On 8 July 2025, the European Parliament endorsed Bulgaria’s bid to join the euro on 1 January 2026. Bulgaria will be the 21st of the EU’s 27 member countries to have the euro as their currency; Croatia was the previous one to join in 2023.
The euro has been around for 26 years and is an integral part of about 350 million Europeans’ lives. It was launched in 1999, initially for accounting purposes and for electronic payments.
On 1 January 2002, twelve countries started using the euro as their cash currency when the coins and bank notes entered into circulation. More and more countries adopted the euro over the years.
What does it take to join the euro area?
All EU countries must ultimately join the euro area as their currency, except Denmark which has negotiated an opt-out. To adopt the euro as their currency, countries must meet certain criteria. They must have price stability, sound public finances, a sustainable long-term interest rate and a stable exchange rate.
A country takes on responsibilities too when it applies to adopt the euro. It has to permanently fix the exchange rate between its national currency and the euro. Once the country is a member of the euro area, it transfers responsibility for its monetary policy to the European Central Bank. It is also expected to coordinate with other euro area countries on crisis management, including providing financial assistance to them when needed, to ensure stability.
Governments have to inform their citizens about the changes that come with joining the euro area to help them prepare. Every year, they submit their draft budgetary plans for the following year to the Commission for assessment; they can be sanctioned if they fail to comply with the criteria on sound and sustainable public finances.
How is the decision about a country’s euro area membership taken?
The European Central Bank and the European Commission evaluate whether a country is ready to join the euro area. The European Parliament also has to be consulted.
In Bulgaria’s case, Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee prepared a report in June recommending that MEPs approve the country’s bid. Parliament adopted this on 8 July.
Member states then make a decision, taking Parliament’s recommendation into account. Council took the decision on Bulgaria’s bid on the same day as Parliament, on 8 July.
How do EU citizens feel about the euro?
EU-wide surveys show that people in the EU feel positively overall about the euro. 71% of respondents living in the euro area think that having the euro is a good thing for their country, while 79% think that having the euro is a good thing for the EU.
The share of people viewing the euro positively has steadily grown over the years, with far more people now thinking the euro is a good thing than they did in 2007.
Benefits of the euro
So how does having a common currency benefit people in the EU?
It makes it easier to travel between euro area countries without worrying about exchange fees and means people can compare prices more easily. For the same reasons it is easier to live, work, study or retire in different euro area countries.
Prices in the euro area are more stable since the euro was introduced 25 years ago, which is good for business and investment. It is the world’s second most used currency for borrowing and lending, and one of the largest and strongest economies in the world.
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